In the modern world, life lessons are not always as black and white as who wins a race between a tortoise and a hare. Modern Day Fables features eleven lessons for us adults, we who face challenges that present a palette of grays in which the morals are often more gritty, trampled on, hard fought, hard won, and not always glorious. In these eleven fables, travel the subterranean world of lessons not oft told because they are challenging to the status quo, and championing of the individual who stands alone amid the world around us. Decide what you think, who wins and who loses, who stands and who falls. Most importantly, just think.

–The book’s first story, Screen, takes place in the near future where a technological innovation allows for the majority of life to be lived inside a virtual world. As life in the real world becomes more and more scarce, and a strange illness starts spreading throughout the population, a young woman named Misha finds herself drawn deep into the true nature of a sinister company called SciTech.

–In The IV Club, a new extracurricular group forms at Glenwood High. Led by a charismatic teacher, it promises relief from suffering through the recognition that we are all innocent victims. While it catches on like wildfire throughout the school and beyond, one student’s skepticism leads her to uncover what the aim of the club really is.

–A young man who has recently graduated college finds himself struggling with where to go in his life in the story, Precipice. After Jake ends up aimlessly walking the campus of his old university one night with a friend, what starts as a nostalgic trip down memory lane quickly turns into a nightmare. A mysterious ally, hostile pursuers, and some suddenly not-so-familiar faces lead him to the verge of a decision that will decide his fate.

Within these stories, as well as the rest in the book, you will see the ideals and expectations of society destroy some characters, as well as be exploited by others for power. But most importantly you will find those rare individuals who discover the courage inherent within them to stand apart from the status quo. They are not fearless heroes, but normal everyday people, conflicted yet confident, fearful yet bold. It is within these characters that lessons of the fables lie.